


Ruth Evershed’s Long-Running and Not-So-Secret Section D Book Club

by yowhyy



Category: Spooks | MI-5
Genre: Multi, Other Additional Tags to Be Added
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-01
Updated: 2020-08-27
Packaged: 2021-03-06 01:34:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,441
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25655233
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yowhyy/pseuds/yowhyy
Summary: What starts out as an idea to help a friend in need soon becomes a cornerstone of Section D and almost everybody that passes through it - Ruth Evershed's Bookclub is a place for relationships to blossom, colleagues to be mourned, and friendships to be forged. (Hopefully) spanning series 2-10, with any characters possibly cropping up.
Comments: 4
Kudos: 6





	1. Chapter One - The Beginning

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No warnings for this chapter, but just in case I forgot for future ones - this follows the storyline of the show, and so will not avoid any character death, or any other spoilers. I will add warnings for any possible issues if they arise.
> 
> This chapter takes place fairly soon after 2.09, although my memory of the chronology of the earlier series is a bit rusty.

The book club, like most good things on the Grid, had been Ruth’s idea. It had come to her very much out of thin air when she’d discovered Sam in the toilet in the middle of the afternoon crying her eyes out. The younger girl had jumped when she’d heard Ruth come in.

'Oh, Ruth, you scared me.'

'Hey, hey, Sam, are you okay? What’s the matter?' murmured the analyst, handing Sam a packet of tissues.

'I’m just upset about' – _hiccup_ '- the thing with Tessa. I thought I was doing a good job.'

'Oh, don’t be silly! Any of us could have made that mistake!' This was a lie, but Ruth doubted it was a good idea to further rub Sam’s nose into the disaster of the Tessa debacle. Harry had done enough of that already.

'I just feel so _stupid_!' Cue fresh tears.

'Shhhh, shhh. Sam, look at me. It’s nearly the end of the day, hm? Why don’t you come home with me? We can have a chat, have a wine. Forget about all of this for an evening.'

Sam nodded slowly, drying her eyes. 'That sounds nice.'

She paused for a second, picking at the sleeve of her jumper. 'Should we ask Zoe if she wants to come? I know she’s still upset about whatever happened with that man…'

Ruth wasn’t sure how much of the story of Carlo Franceschini and Zoe’s relationship Sam knew – she herself had had to do a little digging and she was sure Colin had erased most of the information by now – but Sam was right, Zoe still had the air of somebody not quite over their last relationship.

'Of course! Girls night!'

Ruth was about to leave the bathroom, satisfied that Sam wasn’t about to start sobbing again, when she paused in the doorway.

'Why don’t we make a little thing out of it? I used to be part of a book club at GCHQ, only a few of us, and we met every month or so – it was nice. The three of us could do one. Something for us away from…' She vaguely gestured to the space around her with a grin. 'And all the boys.'

Sam nodded, a smile forming on her face.

'I like that idea!'

Zoe too, thought it was a nice idea, and was quite frankly pleased with the excuse to get away from the flat and from Danny for a night, and drink a lot of wine that she wouldn’t have to pay for.

“We haven’t read a book, though.” She pointed out, at five past five as everybody was leaving the Grid for the day. It had been a fairly quiet one, mostly consigned to admin work and telephone calls, and the team had the chance to leave at a reasonable time, which felt like a first for a long while.

Ruth shrugged, tying her scarf and picking up her bag. 'We can just choose one for next time.'

'Or watch a film of a book. I like the idea of the club, but the reading….' This came from Sam, with a giggle.

The evening ended up, unsurprisingly, with not a lot of talking about books, and more one washed down with several bottle of wine and conversations Ruth couldn’t recall in the morning. She did, however, know that she’d seen her two younger colleagues off with the promise that she would choose a book for next month.

True to her word, three days later the analyst deposited two fresh copies of ‘Little Women’ on Zoe’s desk.

‘Oh God, Ruth, this is huge’ murmured Sam, who had wandered over curiously and was examining the pink paper-back with disdain.

‘Its not that big! And it’s easy to read. You’ll like it, Sam’ smiled Ruth. It was one of her favourite novels – as a young girl she’d fancied herself to be a Jo, but was now realising she was maybe more of a Beth, a revelation which she was perfectly happy with. ‘Besides, there’s a film. It has Winona Ryder in it.’

‘Ah, Louisa May Alcott. My mother’s favourite…’ This came from a voice behind Ruth, and one which caught her by surprise.

‘Have you read this, Malcolm?’ asked Sam, holding up the book.

The techie nodded warmly. ‘Yes, I like the grandfather. He’s always reminded me a little of Harry.’

Ruth grinned. How had she never made that connection? ‘We’re starting a book club, Malcolm. This is our first one – would you like to join us?’

Out of the corner of her eye she saw Sam half roll her eyes, but she ignored her. Malcolm would be a nice addition – a bit of intellectualism in the room. He looked pleasantly surprised at being asked, and swiftly agreed to come along, promising to bring a good bottle of whiskey.

And so the day came – the official inauguration of Ruth Evershed’s bookclub. Sam had, to her credit, actually read the book, and was quite enamoured with it, having been caught by Tom finishing it at her desk the day before. Zoe had also enjoyed it, and was looking forward to an evening to take her mind off the American issues bubbling up on the horizon at work. Malcolm and Ruth had both simply savoured a retreat back into a childhood novel.

‘I liked Amy the best’ declared Sam.

‘Of course you did’ sighed Zoe, a far-away look in her eyes. ‘I liked Meg. Her and Mr Brooks were so sweet.’

‘Beth was always my favourite’ murmured Malcolm, ‘and Jo reminds me of Ruth.’

Ruth blushed. ‘Don’t be silly. If I’m anybody, I’m probably cranky old Aunt March.’

Sam shook her head. ‘No, no. You’re like Jo. You read, and you write, and you’re just lovely.’

‘Well that’s very kind of you. I suppose I’m waiting for my Laurie, then.’

Zoe wiggled her eyebrows, taking a sip of her wine, and Ruth quickly coughed and changed the course of conversation.

‘Right, as a treat, I made pickled limes like they have in the book. I always wanted to know what they tasted like so here you are…’

Sam wrinkled her nose at the smell.

The evening ended on a high note, with all the girls in hysterics watching Malcolm’s face as he bit into a very-poorly pickled lime.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The book they read in this chapter is 'Little Women' by Louisa May Alcott.


	2. A New Face

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A new book, and a new member of the club. Set somewhere between 3.02 and 3.03 - Tom has left, Adam is the new chief, and Zoe has met Will, but the whole business with the Path of Light hasn't happened yet. I realise Adam hasn't officially been transferred at this point, but oh well. You get the gist.

For several reasons, including the decommissioning of their section chief, a new arrival on grid, and several events involving an awful lot of paperwork, the next meeting of the book club didn’t take place for a while.

Sam, to her delight, had been selected to chose the next book, and taking advantage of a rare two minutes of peace, she handed out three copies to three eager faces.

‘Ugh, Sam. This is a kid’s book.’ Zoe groaned, a good-natured twinkle in her eye. 

‘Nothing wrong with that’ beamed Sam. ‘Besides, it’s good! Have none of you read it? The fifth one is coming out soon…’

Ruth shook her head. ‘No, I keep meaning to get around to it, I’ve heard of them. They’re about magic, aren’t they? Wizards and things.’

Sam nodded. ‘Yes! And Ruth – there is somebody in it who is _so_ much like you.’

Malcolm examined the novel with interest – _Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone._ There’s a drawing of a train on the cover, like the one he used to take to boarding school. He hadn’t thought about that for years.

‘Is that Zoe Reynolds reading a _book_ I can see?’ came a voice of somebody stepping through the pods, dripping with mock disbelief. Zoe pulled an indignant face and pretended to throw the hardback in Danny’s direction, cut off when he grabbed it from her hand.

‘Ah, Harry Potter. Bookshelf staples. My friend Mark waited until midnight a few years ago to buy one of these for his niece.’

‘Would your friend Mark maybe have been better just waiting for the film to come out?’

‘That reminds me, Zoe, you owe me five pounds from our cinema trip last week.’

Ruth zoned out the conversation behind her to talk to Sam. ‘This sounds great!’

Sam, however, was not listening, and was watching the bickering between Danny and Zoe with barely concealed interest. Rolling her eyes, Ruth tapped her on the shoulder. ‘Sam, we can invite Danny, if you like.’

‘Oh! Really? Oh, yes please, Ruth. That would be nice.’

And so, two weeks later, the five of them found themselves in Ruth’s living room once again. To their credit, Zoe and Danny did an excellent job at smoothing over whatever tension had cropped up between them on the ride there (Ruth could hazard a guess that it was because of whoever this ‘Will’ person Zoe kept mentioning was), and the evening was once again a lovely one.

Following a _very_ in-depth discussion about the rules of Quidditch, a rather drunk Sam stood up in the middle of the room with a declaration that she was going to sort them all into Hogwarts Houses. Or _Gothort Wowses,_ as it sounded in a slurred Scottish accent.

‘I am a Hufflepuff’ Sam grinned, pointing to herself. ‘And Ruth and Malcolm, you’re both Ravenclaw.’

The two nodded, raising their glasses, both quite pleased with that judgement.

‘Zoe… you are a Gryffindor. And so are you, Danny.’

‘What about Adam?’

Sam paused for a second, considering their new section chief. ‘I suppose he is as well. And Colin is a Hufflepuff. Or a Ravenclaw. Ravenpuff.’ She seemed to find this very funny and dissolved into giggles, collapsing onto the carpet. Ruth hastily swept in to retrieve Sam’s glass. Even through the slight drunken haze settling over her, she was aware she didn’t want red wine on her floor.

‘How about Harry, Sam?’ asked Malcolm quietly, from his position on the armchair.

‘Ooh. Well he’s _certainly_ not a Hufflepuff. I think perhaps a Slytherin.’

‘Seems a little harsh’ remarked Danny.

‘No, no, shhh. You’ve fundamentally misunderstood the book, Mr Hunter. Slytherins aren’t _evil…’_

A lively discussion about the ins and outs of the Hogwarts House system closed the evening, and after bustling Sam into a taxi, Ruth dropped into the sofa, suddenly rather tired. Her book club was shaping up to be rather a success.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The book they read in this chapter is 'Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone' by J.K Rowling.  
> (Would like to note that although I'm a long term Harry Potter fan, J.K Rowling is a P.O.S, lol. I don't endorse her at all.)
> 
> Both of these chapters have been fairly short, apologies. I'm hoping they will get better as I get into the series I'm more familiar with, and with less complicated character changes like the third series has, as well as characters I find easier to write. I'm not sure how much time I will let elapse between chapters, although I will try and give Zoe another one!


	3. Chapter Three - A Subdued Affair

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Set just before 3.06 and Zoe's trial. Danny has also been through it with the whole experience of the assassination on the boat.

Things were feeling awfully gloomy in Thames House, and Ruth had had enough.

‘Malcolm.’

The tech officer looked up from his desk with raised eyebrows.

‘Ruth…’

‘I need a book recommendation. A good one. Something… happy.’

Ruth realised as soon as the words left her mouth that asking a man who regularly quoted Milton and had cheerfully pulled Sam into an hour-long conversation last week on the virtues of Bach was perhaps not the best person to ask for the type of book she had in mind, a sunny, easy-going one with no dead bodies on boats, no court cases and absolutely no mention of the bloody secret service. Half expecting him to reply with ‘Death of a Salesman’, she was pleasantly surprised by the answer.

‘Anne of Green Gables. My mother’s favourite. I’ve never actually read it, but I don’t imagine its particularly dark, considering she was once so spooked by an episode of Midsummer Murders that she didn’t sleep for a week.’

‘Oh, _perfect_ Malcolm. I read it when I was a little girl. Yes, a trip to Avonlea is exactly what we need.’

‘Is this for the book club? Because I have a small request, if you don’t mind…’

And so, the club (which was becoming rather larger than Ruth had originally anticipated) welcomed yet another member a week later. Colin showed up early with a bouquet of flowers, what looked like a new red shirt, and a home-made ‘Green Gables inspired pound cake’ which looked and smelt absolutely delicious. He was easily the happiest of the entourage, as they arrived one by one over the next hour, with Zoe turning up with a face like thunder and Danny still not himself after the events of the fortnight before. Still, Ruth thought, one evening away from it all wouldn’t be too bad. Zoe’s trial was due to begin in two days’ time and Ruth was desperately hoping conversation would go nowhere near it. Technically Zoe was off work and they weren’t really meant to be seeing her- Ruth had had to ask Danny to give her the copy of the novel – but she was sure in a purely social capacity it wouldn’t matter.

The evening was fine, if slightly more subdued than usual. Sam steered surprisingly clear of the alcohol, and Zoe barely spoke, but Colin happily kept conversation afloat, entertaining them all with his story of how he nearly burnt down his flat and broke his oven making the cake. Ruth observed with a smile how Malcolm sat back, listening and laughing at Colin’s story even when nobody else was, and quietly made a mental note to watch how the duo acted together on the grid a bit closer.

The three of ended up being the three left at the end of the night, with Danny and Zoe offering to give Sam a lift back. Ruth made them all a cup of tea and sliced up the rest of the cake, sinking into an armchair with a happy sigh, drinking in what felt like it would be the last moment of peace before whatever fresh chaos the upcoming trial would bring.

She jerked out of her reverie at the sound of Malcolm’s mellow laugh, and she glanced over at where the two tech officers were sat together having a low, whispered conversation.

‘What’s so funny?’

Colin blushed. ‘Nothing. Just discussing the… way Montgomery develops her lexicon and writing style throughout the novel to reflect the maturation and growth of Anne.’

Ruth rolled her eyes and Colin grinned.

‘Am I invited back again, Ruth?’

‘Of _course_ you are. As long as you bring cake again.’

‘I’ll try. If my kitchen hasn’t actually turned into a nuclear reactor by then.’

Ruth saw the two of them off, waving at them from the front door. She watched the two retreating figures, one tall and gangly, one shorter and solid, until the darkness enveloped them and she couldn’t watch them anymore. Her empty house suddenly seemed rather cold, and she got into bed feeling oddly lonely, despite the warm happiness of Anne’s life in Green Gables. Her dreams that night were strange and filled with the comforting presence of a man whose face couldn’t quite place, and the thought annoyed her all morning, or at least until the day’s first paperwork was piled on her desk and she had no room to think until gone seven at night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm writing this with the wikipedia page for 'Spooks Season Three' open because my memory of the order of events is so shaky! Anyway, I hope this slightly short chapter was okay - I do love Malcolm and Colin so very much. Soon we will be onto my favorite set of Spooks' characters and one of my favorite series, so chapters may be a bit better and a bit longer!
> 
> The book they read in this chapter is 'Anne of Green Gables' by L.M. Montgomery.


End file.
